2018 Year in Review

Creating Healthy and Resilient Forests

Your Impact

A letter from Jad Daley, American Forests President & CEO

Forests are not just beautiful—they are essential to life on Earth. From city streets to remote wildlands, American Forests is planting new forests to provide clean air, pure drinking water, shade for our cities, homes for endangered wildlife, forest jobs and wood products and much more.

But as our nation faces the alarming effects of climate change, American Forests has realigned our work for a new reality: climate change is rapidly killing our forests and threatening our communities.

In response, we are using cutting-edge climate science to plant resilient forests that can remain healthy, even in the face of changing conditions, and have the potential to naturally capture as much as 30 percent of the carbon emissions that cause climate change.

We are not tackling this challenge alone. Thanks to your support in 2018, American Forests is building a true national movement to deliver forest solutions to climate change and other issues.

Using skills honed over more than 140 years, we are empowering resilient forest restoration across America by sharing our expertise in forest science and tree planting, creating more public funding for forests and using our award-winning communications to inform, engage and inspire. Working with on-the-ground partners as diverse as the U.S. Forest Service and local community tree planting groups, American Forests is known as a true servant leader for our forests.

Forests can deliver solutions for climate change and so much more. Your support is making this possible. Thank you for your contribution to our work in 2018!

Jad Daley, President & CEO

American ReLeaf – Protecting the Future of Forests

Faced with drought, wildfires, pests and disease, our native forest landscapes are in peril as a result of climate change. Meeting these challenges requires smart thinking and galvanizing action to plant climate-adapted trees, develop policy initiatives to emphasize forest-climate solutions and create collaborative plans that benefit all stakeholders.

In 2018, we significantly intensified our work in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, a unique biodiversity hotspot, where we have been working and making an impact for more than 20 years. This year, we planted 100,000 trees to continue restoring thornscrub and deepened our engagement with new partnerships supported by new funding. Along with adapting critical thornscrub forest to future climate conditions, our ongoing efforts will continue to provide habitat for over 500 species of songbirds and 300 species of butterfly in this area.

People and economic impact are at the center of our white oak restoration efforts in the Ozarks and Appalachians. The foundation of a thriving forest products market, including the barrel-making process essential for wine and whiskey production, white oak is critical to many jobs and communities but is currently at a conservation crossroads. American Forests is working with on-the-ground partners to create the conditions to sustainably manage the species for future generations.

There are few areas of the country where forests are suffering more than the Sierra Nevada and Southern California Ranges. California has lost 129 million trees since 2010, many in the Sierra Nevada, where American Forests is using science-based planning to expand future forests that can withstand the current climate hardships and continue to provide their essential water and wildlife benefits.

Community ReLeaf – Urban Forests for All People

As American cities have grown and become more densely populated, American Forests has advocated for more equitable distribution of urban trees and greenspaces so they can benefit everyone. From tree canopy analysis and strategic tree planting to mitigating heat island effect and reducing the dangers caused by storms and flooding, our urban forestry work prioritizes underserved neighborhoods and people.

A new aspect of our equity focus in cities in 2018 was urban forestry workforce development. American Forests is advancing efforts to grow long-term tree care jobs for the underemployed. Working with tree nursery partners in Detroitand an urban wood reclamation and reuse start-up in Baltimore, American Forests is piloting projects that are the foundation for future expansion of urban forest-related workforce training programs.

American Forests continues to strategically plant trees based on data and science. In Houston, damaging flooding and excessive stormwater run-off are inextricably linked to lack of sufficient tree canopy cover. Our restoration work there this past year has been in direct response to Hurricane Harvey. Miami-Dade County also faced tree canopy loss in multiple hurricanes last year and continues to be one the fastest-warming metropolitan areas in the U.S. The trees we plant in Miami-Dade not only replace lost canopy but also reduce ground-level temperatures and absorb storm surges.

Of greatest concern to American Forests is the well-being of vulnerable people who have few options in merciless heat waves or extreme weather. These are the communities that we prioritize, and this focus determines where we invest in restoring tree canopy that grows in value and impact.

2019 Big Moves

American Forests has launched a Climate Leadership Strategy that paves the way for catalytic action on climate change by mobilizing forestry organizations, companies and agencies across America to leverage wildland and urban forests as a climate solution. We will lead this work through partnerships, research and science, policy advocacy and on-the-ground forest restoration. We are extremely grateful for your commitment to our work. Your financial support makes this—and all our work—possible. Thank you!

Thank You to Our Members

We are extremely grateful to American Forests’ members who generously supported our work this year.